MovieChat Forums > You've Got Mail (1998) Discussion > Hanks' reaction

Hanks' reaction

posted 11 years ago by c7c7c7r
9 replies | jump to latest

(Spoilers)It bothered me how flippant Hanks was after he stood up Ryan.
I know in the email he said the fault was his, but he never explained it--so when Meg asked to meet again, he just says he has some 'tweaking' to do---he should've been grateful to be asked again.
and speaking of that first meeting--Meg should've told him to get lost---to definitely NOT sit down with her--she shouldn't have let that happen--she doesn't want the person she is waiting for to see some guy sitting with her. So it bothered me that she let that happen and it bothered me that Hanks sat down.
I like both Hanks and Ryan -- they have a likeable quality, but You've Got Mail has certain flaws that bothered me.

[–] nd1433 11 years ago

I would say he was only flippant after there bust up due to her attitude towards him for doing a job. If he had fully explained (after there coffee shop bust up) I doubt it would have endeared him to her heart as she still saw him as a ruthless business man, hence his tweaking comment, he wanted her to learn to like him outside the constants of the book business world which had made them enemies.

He knew from her character (and emails) that she could not deal with confrontations hence his sitting down to talk under the guise of tormenting her, he was still attracted to her but knew coming right out and saying 'hi it's me you've been chatting to on email' would have only made things worse longer term.

Just my take on it however...

When you talk to God it’s called prayer...when God talks to you it’s called schizophrenia...

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 11 years ago

That's the problem with relationships today. Everyone has to have EVERYTHING one way and one way only. No one allows for mistakes in their partner. Human beings are all liable to make mistakes or offend each other and our own sensibilities... especially the more delicate sensibilities.

The greatness of Tom and Meg in these movies is that they are both so tolerant and accepting of each other, even when their characters don't want to be in certain situations.

[–] c7c7c7r 11 years ago

The first 3 quarters of the movie was Meg being intolerant and NOT accepting of Tom.
Understandably so. I don't think it was a matter of today's people being too sensitive and needing to have everything one way. I was more annoyed at Meg being stood up, with no decent explanation--I think that would've bothered a person 50 years ago, too. And before they got together, Meg & Tom each ended their earlier relationships--not because they were intolerant--the chemistry just wasn't there.

[–] JR541 11 years ago

He didn't want to lie to her with some line or something. By keeping the truth to himself he is basically asking her to forgive him (perhaps unconditionally) for now because he knows he'll have to reveal the truth to her eventually anyway. Actually he won't even have to do that as she'll have figured it out instantaneously upon seeing him at the park.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

[–] c7c7c7r 11 years ago

It's playing right now on Channel 51. He's bringing her daisies. She doesn't want him to come in. But he does anyway. Yeah, I know. There's something about him that she likes. And vice verse...

[–] Hanz-Willhelm 11 years ago

I believe he was very, very close to just breaking off all contact with her based on how mean she was to him when he came in the coffee shop (he was just feeling her out to see if they could get by their business interactions and have a dating relationship), he realized she hated him and they could never have a friendship, he wasn't even going to write her back. He was just slowly whoooed back in based on her kindness via the internet and revealing how bad she felt about being mean.

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 11 years ago

Exactly. He didn't have to fall in love with her. In fact, they both had good reason to stay as far away from each other as possible... but, something about Meg, something about Tom kept drawing them back to each other. I mean, the film shows Tom being despicable to her and her business in the beginning. But, that's his job. He doesn't have to love anyone that his bosses (his father and grandfather) were trying to squash. Who was Meg to him at that point?

When Tom fell in love with her, you could see that he felt awful about what happened. He stayed, through all of her anger and insults, because he felt like he deserved it. Love is never easily defined. We love what we can't have or we love the person or thing that makes us miserable. So, it definitely was not impossible for me to believe that these two wonderfully characters (with all of their flaws) could fall in love.

[–] LoBo_77018 11 years ago

Maybe he didn't feel guilty because he didn't stand her up. He sat down and tried to have a conversation but she obliterated him. Who is to say that if the convo went well he might have confessed to being NY152. Of course the movie would have ended much quicker.

[–] 11 years ago

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